John Rogers does it locally in Hawaii. He said one such container home was permitted on the Big Island (permit #B2008-0760H), but so far, none have been permitted on Oahu as a dwelling use.
An article in Hawaii Luxury magazine interestingly featured an article about a music producer running his studio out of a shipping container on the North Shore. I believe it erroneously describes says its aluminum, instead of steel. And there seems to be no mention of if the structure was built with a permit or not.
Some architects are starting to create affordable housing and office space from shipping containers. This has not caught on in Hawaii; i'm not sure whether it is permit constraints or simply that it is just not cost effective when compared to traditional stick-frame structures.
2010 spring_Hawaii Modern Luxury Magazine modernluxury.com_Wright Way using Aluminum Shipping Container -
